Use your favorite RSS Feed to let you know when anything new appears on the Health and Fitness Channel of AmomsLove.com. Stay-At-Home Mom Defeats Destructive Dieting Shelley loses 41 pounds* in only six months! Shelley, who struggled with her weight all her life, now enjoys working out, working on her house and having a monthly game night with her friends. I will have my 20-year high-school reunion on September 10th. When I received the invitation last December, I was so worried about showing up to the reunion and having everyone think that I had really "let myself go." That was about the time that I was "hitting bottom" with my weight. Around the same time last year, while taking our family photos for Christmas, I came to the realization that I had gotten used to making sure my son was in front of me in pictures to hide how fat I was. But my son had gone on a huge growth spurt, and was now taller than I was—I couldn't hide behind him any more! I was so ashamed of my appearance while taking those pictures. It was at that time that I decided to try NutriSystem. I started the program on December 26th, when I weighed 169 lbs. Within six months, I'd lost 41 lbs.*! Now that I have lost the weight, I am really looking forward to going to my reunion, knowing that I look and feel as good as I possibly can. Hi, I'm Shelley, a 38-year-old wife and stay-at-home mother. This is my weight-loss story. I have struggled with my weight my entire life. As a child, I was overweight—kids at school would call me "Shelley-Belly" or "Tub-o-Lard." Then, as a teenager, I got very thin (I was probably on the verge of anorexia) by starving myself and playing field hockey 4 hours a day at school. The only time I would eat would be at dinner, since that was the only meal I spent with my family, and I didn't want them to be concerned. They never knew that I would black out almost every day at school from not eating. But as soon as dinner was over, I would rush to my room to exercise more to try to burn off whatever calories I had consumed at dinner. Once high school was over, I settled into married life with my high-school sweetheart Jim, and my weight slowly crept up. But I was able to keep it within a certain range for several years. I wasn't happy about it, but I figured it was the best I could do, since I was no longer playing field hockey all those hours each day. After I got pregnant, though, I was in a car accident and was put on bed rest. Prior to the accident, I had stayed on track with my (pregnancy) weight gain. However, once I was put on bed rest the weight totally shot up. I ended up gaining over 70 pregnancy pounds.

Once my son Jake was born, my truly destructive habits started. I starved myself for several months in order to lose the weight, in addition to using laxatives. I was so desperate. It worked for a while. I lost all my pregnancy weight. But no one knew what I was doing to myself, and that I was doing it in such an unhealthy way. And, after a while, those methods no longer worked.

Once I was in my 30s, the weight really started to come on again. It seemed like nothing I did worked. I joined a gym, but that didn't help. I tried taking more laxatives (very stupid, I know), and that didn't work, either. I tried taking diet pills, too. They did nothing except make me very jittery and give me severe leg cramps. I tried skipping meals again, and would only eat dinner (again, so my family wouldn't know). But by dinnertime I was so hungry, I wanted to eat everything in sight.

Finally, NutriSystem was the answer I was looking for. The program made losing weight easy for me. I really haven't found being on NutriSystem to be challenging at all. It is practically foolproof as long as you follow the guidelines.

I especially love the convenience of the program. My husband and son weren't the ones with a weight problem…I was. And so I didn't want to inconvenience them in any way. I love that I can still cook meals for my family, and don't have to worry about what I'm going to eat. I just put my food in the microwave, or add hot water, and I am able to eat with my family.

I also love that I don't have to eliminate an entire food group. I have family members who have done the low-carb diets, and those diets always failed. I never even tried those diets, because I love fruit and pasta too much to give them up! In fact, my favorite NutriSystem foods are the pasta dishes. I love the chicken primavera with pasta, the macaroni & cheese with beef, the rotini with meatballs, the chili, and the pizza!

I also enjoy the fudge graham bars and the chocolate raspberry bars for lunch. Since I am only working part time and don't take a lunch break, these are perfect. I can just eat them at my desk.

The most rewarding part of my weight-loss journey, however, is definitely how it's improved my family life. And my husband and son deserve it, because I just couldn't have done this without their support, which means the world to me.

For example, I have learned how to eat healthier, and take better care of myself. Before, I used to just cram anything in my mouth and not think about it. When I eat now, I think about making healthy decisions, which has an added benefit: I'm setting a good example for my son. He is learning to make healthy eating choices as well.

And while my marriage was always great, losing weight has made it even better. My husband is my best friend. But before I lost weight, I sometimes felt more like his buddy than his wife. I'm sure that was all my doing, not his, because I wasn't happy with how I looked. But now I have much more confidence in myself. (I love that I don't have to buy the "frumpy mom" clothes any more, and now I love buying all kinds of cute clothes!)

Shelley, shown here with her son Jake and her husband Jim, lost over 40 pounds* on NutriSystem in only six months. Now she poses for pictures next to Jake instead of hiding behind him!

When you feel better about yourself, it's only natural that your relationships with others are better. Jim is so proud of me, too. And, although he never said anything about my weight to me prior to NutriSystem, he is definitely pleased with the results and makes sure to tell me every day how beautiful he thinks I am.

Others are noticing the change, too. At a little league game recently, a woman I know (who I hadn't seen in a while) came up to me, because she couldn't believe it was actually me. She thought my husband had come to the game with another woman, and was very upset with him!

Look. If you want to lose weight, but are hesitant to try, the only thing stopping you is you. You have to make the decision to do it, and not give up! When I started NutriSystem, I wasn't sure it would work for me, because it seemed like nothing else had. But I decided to try it, since I had nothing else to lose (except the weight, of course!). And in 6 months I was able to lose 41 lbs.*! I have not been one of the fastest losers, but I have averaged about 1 ½ lbs. per week. But even that thrilled me, because the scale was always going in the right direction. I was happy with whatever loss I would have each week, and was able to keep motivated.

I am so thankful to NutriSystem for changing my life, and how I feel about myself. I am no longer embarrassed to be in family pictures, and I have so much more confidence. I am also so thankful that I have learned a new, healthy way of eating that's NOT A DIET. This is a lifestyle change for me, and NutriSystem has given me the tools I need to help me make that change.

— Shelley

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* Results not typical